Return to Unfiction unforum
 a.r.g.b.b 
FAQ FAQ   Search Search 
 
Welcome!
New users, PLEASE read these forum guidelines. New posters, SEARCH before posting and read these rules before posting your killer new campaign. New players may also wish to peruse the ARG Player Tutorial.

All users must abide by the Terms of Service.
Website Restoration Project
This archiving project is a collaboration between Unfiction and Sean Stacey (SpaceBass), Brian Enigma (BrianEnigma), and Laura E. Hall (lehall) with
the Center for Immersive Arts.
Announcements
This is a static snapshot of the
Unfiction forums, as of
July 23, 2017.
This site is intended as an archive to chronicle the history of Alternate Reality Games.
  

The time now is Sat Nov 23, 2024 5:24 am
All times are UTC - 4 (DST in action)		 View posts in this forum since last visit
View unanswered posts in this forum
Calendar
 Forum index » Archive » Archive: The Haunted Apiary (Let Op!) » The Haunted Apiary (Let Op!): General/Updates
[SPEC] We are definitely still in Pre-Game
View previous topicView next topic
Page 3 of 4 [60 Posts]   Goto page: Previous 1, 2, 3, 4 Next
Author Message
Tarrsk
Veteran

Joined: 27 Jul 2004
Posts: 98
Location: Washington, DC
Anton P. Nym wrote:
-- Steve is wondering how many will get the Pauli reference without the linkies.


Biology major here, with a decent background in chemistry, so I got it right quick. Wink

Agreed on your points as well.

sfsdfd wrote:
In fact, it may not be all that relevant. The A.I. ARG was set in the same general universe as the A.I. movie plot - but there was surprisingly little overlap. Some of the young characters in the film showed up as adults in the game, and the general theme of robot/human interaction continued (but with a much different tone.)

My point is that you might not learn a whole lot about the Halo 2 backstory from this game. It may well happen that way, but it doesn't have to, and you may be disappointed if you expect it.


Particularly well put! Keep in mind that the Cortana letters themselves fit this mold- the character of Cortana certainly appeared in Halo, but in a vastly different form (and personality) than the entity we got to know in the Letters. The Letters themselves had very little relation with the actual plot of the game. IIRC, there are scattered references to the Covenant, but nothing about the more insidious menace that the Master Chief encounters, nor anything specific about the Halo installation itself.

PostPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2004 6:46 pm
 View user's profile AIM Address
 Back to top 
Jacqueline
Boot

Joined: 17 Aug 2004
Posts: 23
Quote:
ILB might have an 'end', or we'll just get a 404 the day H2 is released.


Even on my most cynical days, I don't think I'd be able to really believe that the PMs are stupid/callous/ill-prepared enough to just pull the plug in the middle of the game. They started this thing months in advance for a reason, I'm sure plenty of work and money has gone into it, and obviously they have a conclusion in mind and mean to carry it out.

From a business standpoint, the whole reason of running something on this scale is to attract new blood, because they wouldn't bother for the diehard fans who are going to preorder anyway.

And somehow I don't think 'jerk the potential customers around for months and then leave them hanging' is a great way to convince all the new people they've spent so much money attracting to buy their game, and I'm pretty sure they know that too.

PostPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2004 7:43 pm
 View user's profile
 Back to top 
GunsmithCat
Unfettered


Joined: 05 Aug 2004
Posts: 459
Jacqueline wrote:
Quote:
ILB might have an 'end', or we'll just get a 404 the day H2 is released.


Even on my most cynical days, I don't think I'd be able to really believe that the PMs are stupid/callous/ill-prepared enough to just pull the plug in the middle of the game. They started this thing months in advance for a reason, I'm sure plenty of work and money has gone into it, and obviously they have a conclusion in mind and mean to carry it out.

From a business standpoint, the whole reason of running something on this scale is to attract new blood, because they wouldn't bother for the diehard fans who are going to preorder anyway.

And somehow I don't think 'jerk the potential customers around for months and then leave them hanging' is a great way to convince all the new people they've spent so much money attracting to buy their game, and I'm pretty sure they know that too.


I'd say it definitely has an end, and there's a lot of indication that it's tied to Halo 2. Nobody writes this much backstory without a direction and unless people just stopped paying attention to it, there's not much reason to let it finish.

On a side note, since I found a good price for it I just ordered Halo for the PC. Clearly someone is doing their job right.

PostPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2004 11:29 pm
 View user's profile
 Back to top 
sfsdfd
Veteran

Joined: 25 Jul 2004
Posts: 112
GunsmithCat wrote:
I'd say it definitely has an end, and there's a lot of indication that it's tied to Halo 2.

I agree with the first part. The second might surprise you, though. The A.I. game ran well past the release of the A.I. movie, and it ended - well, when it was time to end it. It had a very gratifying, well-presented, and clearly final ending.

- David Stein

PostPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2004 11:51 pm
 View user's profile
 Back to top 
Scumbag
Decorated


Joined: 27 Jul 2004
Posts: 214

 		Oh well. I'm bored.

Quote:

The past few weeks have just been a lead-up to a much broader game set: more websites, more text, a lot more puzzles.


So its a Larger Bungie Puzzle. Exactly what I've been saying.

Quote:

My point is that you might not learn a whole lot about the Halo 2 backstory from this game.


Oh, I know that. Bungie Puzzles never mesh at all with the game story proper. But Bungie Puzzles ain't about that. Bungie Puzzles are excerises to interest people in a game, before the game comes out.

Quote:

I don't think I'd be able to really believe that the PMs are stupid/callous/ill-prepared enough to just pull the plug in the middle of the game.


When H2 comes out, the game is over, or at the very least the importance is over.

Don't you get it? The puzzle ends when, or before, the game hits the shelves. I don't expect much after August 24th, because the countdown is the game. The entire game is "figure out what is going to happen on the 24th before it happens"

Will ILB go 404 on the 24th? Nope. Do I expect it to wrap up fairly quickly, considering the whole point of the Puzzle was discovering what the countdown was counting down to? Yup. On the "August 24th" of a previous Puzzle, Enkidu decided to flee, rather than cause harm to his human allies.

Post 24th, ILB will act like this. Wrap-up. Well done wrap up that doesn't answer all the questions we might have, but a wrap-up nonetheless.

We'll spend the next couple months figuring out what the hell just happened. ARG people might get bored since it'll be nothing more than analysing existing information instead of getting new information... but in the end, ILB will be what it was always going to be.

Now, I'm no clairvoyant. If it happens differently, it happens differently. I don't see ILB making the AI ARG as... well, Halo 2 is assured to be a success, as opposed to AI.

Quote:

And somehow I don't think 'jerk the potential customers around for months and then leave them hanging' is a great way to convince all the new people they've spent so much money attracting to buy their game, and I'm pretty sure they know that too.


Worked for ever game Bungie made that had a Puzzle.
_________________
When I first got there and asked about I Love Bees, the attendant said I must be looking for some other theater... I said, "er....Halo 2 Preview Event?" and suddenly he understood what I meant.
fphzont jnf ynhtuvat

PostPosted: Sat Aug 21, 2004 4:56 pm
 View user's profile
 Back to top 
Maestro
Greenhorn


Joined: 21 Aug 2004
Posts: 5
Location: England

 		Couldn't August 24th just be another stage in the A.I.'s develpment, as with "network throttling" and "medium metastasized"? In fact, since no other stages are listed on the home page, it could be taken as the last stage - that after August 24th the A.I. will be "finished", and the game will continue on from there. With all the co-ordinates, perhaps it just means that after the 24th the game will no longer be confined to just one website...?

PostPosted: Sat Aug 21, 2004 5:24 pm
 View user's profile
 Back to top 
Anton P. Nym
Unfettered


Joined: 25 Jul 2004
Posts: 550
Location: London, Canada
Scumbag wrote:
When H2 comes out, the game is over, or at the very least the importance is over.

Uh, no.

Let me elabourate. Folks didn't stop paying attention to the Halo Transmissions or the Cortana Letters after Halo came out. New Transmissions/Letters didn't come out, true, but the significance continued on. In fact, it was used to inform later debate on backstory revealed in the game itself.

Quote:
Don't you get it? The puzzle ends when, or before, the game hits the shelves. I don't expect much after August 24th, because the countdown is the game. The entire game is "figure out what is going to happen on the 24th before it happens"

I don't get that. There's been no indication of any kind that the game ends on Aug.24. Until I hear a character say it, or until the PMs lift the curtain, I'm making no assumptions as to when the game is ending. It could indeed be Aug.24; it could be that Melissa telephones all those pay phones to tell us to drink our Ovaltine or to watch the skies. Or Aug.24 could be the beginning of a whole new phase when it becomes a true ARG and we can start interacting with the Sleeping Princess and Melissa more directly. Or it could be something entirely different that we haven't anticipated. (I'm rooting for that one myself.)

We don't know. We shouldn't guess, as guesses have a nasty habit of narrowing down our options so that we get blindsided by something we missed.

Quote:
Will ILB go 404 on the 24th? Nope. Do I expect it to wrap up fairly quickly, considering the whole point of the Puzzle was discovering what the countdown was counting down to? Yup. On the "August 24th" of a previous Puzzle, Enkidu decided to flee, rather than cause harm to his human allies.

A reminder that I wrote Enkidu as a fan project, that it is not an official Bungie puzzle (though modeled as closely as I could to official Bungie puzzles) and that no confidence should be assigned to speculation based solely upon Enkidu material. If Enkidu material matches up with both ARG and official Bungie material, then we can use it (and I'll be flattered totally beyond reason) but until confirmed it should be treated as wild SPEC.

Quote:
Post 24th, ILB will act like this. Wrap-up. Well done wrap up that doesn't answer all the questions we might have, but a wrap-up nonetheless.


Except that Enkidu didn't finish there; it finished here when I raised the curtain and signified the end. (The story itself ended with the first prologue, for out-of story reasons (I blew the first pass at it) and in-story reasons which no one has publicly stated yet so I'll keep my big mouth shut. The game is still afoot, my friends.)

Quote:
Now, I'm no clairvoyant. If it happens differently, it happens differently. I don't see ILB making the AI ARG as... well, Halo 2 is assured to be a success, as opposed to AI.

Disclaiming clairvoyance and then pronouncing the fate and purpose of ILB led to cognative dissonance. For me, anyway.

This is all speculation in advance of the in-game facts... we need to ground it more with in-game material instead of potentially-irrelevant out-of-game material before placing any reliance upon conclusions reached through it.

Quote:
Quote:

And somehow I don't think 'jerk the potential customers around for months and then leave them hanging' is a great way to convince all the new people they've spent so much money attracting to buy their game, and I'm pretty sure they know that too.


Worked for ever game Bungie made that had a Puzzle.

The difference here is that it was presented to ARGers in a manner which implies that it is an ARG in at least some fashion. Bungie has never spoon-fed us answers to their puzzles, but they've also never (by statement or implication) misled us about the nature of their puzzles.

The correct answer to the thread title is, "Insufficient data for meaningful response."

-- Steve'll end it there, 'cause it's getting rather long. If anything is missing or unclear from this post, please shout out and we'll continue from there.
_________________
Dr.Prof. Anton P. Nym
Chief Bungiologist
Institute for Advanced ILB Research
Fireflies Wiki contributor. Sorta.
Livejournal

PostPosted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 1:13 pm
 View user's profile Visit poster's website
 Back to top 
Scumbag
Decorated


Joined: 27 Jul 2004
Posts: 214
Quote:

Folks didn't stop paying attention to the Halo Transmissions or the Cortana Letters after Halo came out. New Transmissions/Letters didn't come out, true, but the significance continued on.


We agree, we're just saying it in different ways. When I say a puzzle like this "ends", it means there will be no more 'stuff' added to it. The Letters 'ended' when there were no more letters. The Transmissions 'ended' when there were no more Transmissions.

Analysing those things, after the 'end' of the Puzzle, isn't part of the 'Puzzle'. Perhaps "active" would have been a better terminology.

I have no doubt there will be analysis after ILB is done. But that ain't part of the game.

Quote:

A reminder that I wrote Enkidu as a fan project, that it is not an official Bungie puzzle


I know that, it was just the latest Puzzle-type thing. I was using it as an example, something I didn't mention. Sorry about that.

As I'm sure you're aware, a lot of people thought the Enkidu Terminals were H2's Cortana Letters, and they treated it as such before the reveal. How they treated the Terminals, as how they treated the Letters, is fundamental in determining how ILB should be treated.

I was just showing that there was an ending and wrap-up. The one I linked to was the "in-game" ending, the one you linked to was a "post-game" ending. The 'story' of Enkidu ended with the Character being teleported to the rest of the humans.

Quote:

Disclaiming clairvoyance and then pronouncing the fate and purpose of ILB led to cognative dissonance.


I'm not being a clairvoyant. I'm making educated guesses based on historical situations. Halo sold great. The sequal is far more likely to do well than do poorly.

The Letters, Transmissions, and Terminals were popular with Bungie fans. ILB is far more likely to do similar, than it is to do poorly. So far, its done that in spades, due in no small part to ARGers who have added their skills to the mix, fueled by the fact that they think this is, like, some long-term ARG or something.

Quote:

The difference here is that it was presented to ARGers in a manner which implies that it is an ARG in at least some fashion.


I fully agree. Presented as an ARG to the ARG community. What better way to get them interested? By the time its obvious to Halo fans that its a Bungie Puzzle (7 seconds), the ARGers will be too hooked to stop their work.

To get two different communities to work on something, both must think its their bread and butter.
_________________
When I first got there and asked about I Love Bees, the attendant said I must be looking for some other theater... I said, "er....Halo 2 Preview Event?" and suddenly he understood what I meant.
fphzont jnf ynhtuvat

PostPosted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 2:29 pm
 View user's profile
 Back to top 
GloryFish
Boot


Joined: 20 Aug 2004
Posts: 44

 		I think it's important to note that some evidence points to this ARG being run not by Bungie proper (they're too busy finishing Halo 2) but by an actual ARG group (possibly the Hive itself?). It might be a bit rash to assume that this game will fall a little flat just because it's Bungie affiliated. Sure, it's a glorified advertisement but wasn't that true of the Beast? Don't sell this experience short. Wait and see... Smile
_________________
Non illigitamus carborundum.

PostPosted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 3:33 pm
 View user's profile Visit poster's website
 Back to top 
Shad0
I Have No Life


Joined: 20 Jun 2004
Posts: 2180
Location: Southern California, USA

 		Re: [SPEC] We are definitely still in Pre-Game
Anton P. Nym wrote:
Scumbag wrote:
Don't you get it? The puzzle ends when, or before, the game hits the shelves. I don't expect much after August 24th, because the countdown is the game. The entire game is "figure out what is going to happen on the 24th before it happens"

I don't get that. There's been no indication of any kind that the game ends on Aug.24. Until I hear a character say it, or until the PMs lift the curtain, I'm making no assumptions as to when the game is ending. It could indeed be Aug.24; it could be that Melissa telephones all those pay phones to tell us to drink our Ovaltine or to watch the skies. Or Aug.24 could be the beginning of a whole new phase when it becomes a true ARG and we can start interacting with the Sleeping Princess and Melissa more directly. Or it could be something entirely different that we haven't anticipated. (I'm rooting for that one myself.)

My $0.02: I understand Scumbag's position -- that we began this ARG with three definite dates on which things were going to happen, and that absolutely nothing we have seen to date indicates that anything else is planned to happen following the last of these three updates this Tuesday -- but I still think Steve is right. This just feels like it's about to build to something bigger.

On Tuesday, I expect Melissa to broadcast to the coordinates using her new voice. It might be a Mayday to her crew, or it might be the "truth" that the Pious Flea has persuaded her to reveal. (I don't think we're going to get to talk to Melissa ourselves -- I think it will be a one-way message -- but that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.) And then a whole new can o' worms will open. Maybe more plot, maybe more puzzle, hopefully both.

We have waaaaaaaaay too many unanswered questions for this ARG to be over so abruptly. For one thing, we still don't know how Melissa got here from the future, or how she ended up in Dana's aunt's web site -- and since those are the two mysteries we originally started with, I don't see the PMs leaving them completely unanswered. Heck, even if you're in the "this whole ARG has no purpose other than to explain the back-story for Halo 2" camp, we don't yet have enough to explain how the Covenant find Earth.

Finally, Dana's most recent e-mail requests assistance writing her next blog entry, which looks to me like a definite indication that the game will not end, not even a little bit, on 8/24. If anything, it looks like the PMs are gearing up for a new influx of interested players/customers/whatever.

(By the way, Steve, I read through all of the Enkidu stuff thanks to Scumbag's link. Just delightful.)
_________________
These were the puzzles that would take a day, these were puzzles that would take a week, and these puzzles they'd probably never figure out until we broke down and gave them the answers. ... The Cloudmakers solved all of these puzzles on the first day.

PostPosted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 3:52 pm
 View user's profile
 Back to top 
Anton P. Nym
Unfettered


Joined: 25 Jul 2004
Posts: 550
Location: London, Canada

 		Scumbag, if I was a little, uh, I guess "touchy" is the word, about Enkidu being mentioned in this context it's because for the first week after the ILB/Halo2 trailer link was revealed I got tapped several times a day for inside hints. (The first before I even knew what was going on. Talk about surreal. Shocked )

If fans inside the Bungie community can misread the situation like that, it's gotta be really easy to lead folks who haven't been reading Bungie news down the wrong path.

So I've made it a habit to post that it was a fan project whenever the Terminals are mentioned without expressly stating that the story wasn't official. Hopefully this habit is unnecessary, but I'd rather be safe than lead a whole bunch astray. (And get flame-mailed into powdered trinitite.)

Oh, and glad you liked the Terminals, Shad0. I'd be interested in your interpretations on them (outside here!) on how accessable they are to folks who haven't been immersed in Bungie culture. When there's time, of course. Things are a tad busy right now.

-- Steve is resisting all urges to prognosticate about Tuesday... he can keep his trap shut for two days, can't he?
_________________
Dr.Prof. Anton P. Nym
Chief Bungiologist
Institute for Advanced ILB Research
Fireflies Wiki contributor. Sorta.
Livejournal

PostPosted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 5:35 pm
 View user's profile Visit poster's website
 Back to top 
GunsmithCat
Unfettered


Joined: 05 Aug 2004
Posts: 459
Anton P. Nym wrote:
Scumbag, if I was a little, uh, I guess "touchy" is the word, about Enkidu being mentioned in this context it's because for the first week after the ILB/Halo2 trailer link was revealed I got tapped several times a day for inside hints. (The first before I even knew what was going on. Talk about surreal. Shocked )


So ... um... ahem.


GIVE US ANSWERS! TALK!!!! TALK!!!!!!!!





sorry, couldn't resist

I agree with the sentiment, that in general this doesn't feel like a wind-down or final countdown ( cues Joey Tempest ). I do see Scumbag's perspective, I think, and wonder if ILB itself won't be less important - but we should also keep in mind that it's still one of the main ways of communication for SP. I'm guessing it will still be a focal point.

PostPosted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 6:11 pm
 View user's profile
 Back to top 
Varin
I Have No Life


Joined: 02 Dec 2002
Posts: 2456
Location: South of where I used to be
Scumbag wrote:
So far, its done that in spades, due in no small part to ARGers who have added their skills to the mix, fueled by the fact that they think this is, like, some long-term ARG or something.


An ARG doesn't have to be something long term. AFAIC, an ARG can last a day and it would still be an ARG. We're just using different terms to describe the same thing. Bungie puzzle with email interaction is the same thing as a Bungie ARG.
_________________
"I still miss him to this day and probably always will." - Todd Keeler, Chasing the Wish

"meta meta meta, I made you out of play..." ~ j5

PostPosted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 7:40 pm
 View user's profile Visit poster's website AIM Address
 Back to top 
Anton P. Nym
Unfettered


Joined: 25 Jul 2004
Posts: 550
Location: London, Canada
GunsmithCat wrote:
Anton P. Nym wrote:
for the first week after the ILB/Halo2 trailer link was revealed I got tapped several times a day for inside hints. (The first before I even knew what was going on. Talk about surreal. Shocked )


So ... um... ahem.


GIVE US ANSWERS! TALK!!!! TALK!!!!!!!!

I can give you as many answers as you can handle, so long as they don't have to be right. Razz

-- Steve'd probably be able to fake it fairly well, too... which is a major hindrance for him in SPEC. Gotta keep reining it in.
_________________
Dr.Prof. Anton P. Nym
Chief Bungiologist
Institute for Advanced ILB Research
Fireflies Wiki contributor. Sorta.
Livejournal

PostPosted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 7:50 pm
 View user's profile Visit poster's website
 Back to top 
Scumbag
Decorated


Joined: 27 Jul 2004
Posts: 214

 		Re: [SPEC] We are definitely still in Pre-Game
Quote:

We have waaaaaaaaay too many unanswered questions


Welcome to the PiD-Marathon-Halo storyline.

/would post more, busy playing Ocarina of Time
_________________
When I first got there and asked about I Love Bees, the attendant said I must be looking for some other theater... I said, "er....Halo 2 Preview Event?" and suddenly he understood what I meant.
fphzont jnf ynhtuvat

PostPosted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 8:11 pm
 View user's profile
 Back to top 
Display posts from previous:   Sort by:   
Page 3 of 4 [60 Posts]   Goto page: Previous 1, 2, 3, 4 Next
View previous topicView next topic
 Forum index » Archive » Archive: The Haunted Apiary (Let Op!) » The Haunted Apiary (Let Op!): General/Updates
Jump to:  


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum
You cannot post calendar events in this forum



Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group